


Weathering

by Adamantite



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: F/M, Female Reader, Reader-Insert, gonna get spoilery later on, not beta read we die like men, some iris, spoilers arent gonna pass chapter 8 for awhile
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-24
Updated: 2017-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-19 15:29:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9447602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adamantite/pseuds/Adamantite
Summary: A lot has happened and a lot has changed but somehow the world seems a lot brighter with an old hoodie from a kind stranger.Maybe, one day you'd meet the blonde again.





	1. Chapter 1

The flatbed of the truck wasn't your ideal place to sit, hard and cold from the morning rain. You had little choice since most of the chairs were soaked at the Cauthess Rest Area. The morning rush at the Crow's Nest kept every booth preoccupied.

So, you sat, needle working at a hoodie. Your fingers weaved the warm fabric together. Each stitch carefully placed and checked.

A little mishap with a crate of oranges tore a tiny hole on the sleeve. A little thing but time would wear at it. Better to fix it now then lose the hoodie one day.

You still had to return it to the owner.

If they had survived the attack.

A breath rattled in your lungs. Tears you've been fighting off began to well. You made a weak attempt to wipe at them. Vision blurred and hands shaking, the needle slipped. Weeks had past but the red of that night still haunted you.

The deafening silence as everything stilled. The sky falling as the wall collapsed. The panic. Explosions. Static news that fell silent. Monsters of nightmares and stone lighting the sky red. Crowds sweeping you from where you wanted to go. Home.

The dawn revealed the destruction. The smoke rising as the dial tone rung in your ears. The walk alone across the bridge, huddled in this hoodie as the rain fell. Words caught in silent sobs. 

You traced a stain of soot that just wouldn't come out before collapsing into fabric. You steadied your breathing and forced your eyes shut.

Memories of Insomnia began to flood your mind. Your home and family. The subways. The skyscrapers filling the horizon.

An arcade on a rainy day.

You had given a friend your umbrella. They had a longer trek home and you could wait a few minutes. But a half hour of waiting at the entrance said otherwise. You underestimated how long the heavy rain could last.

In that half hour, you built some courage. Everything in your backpack had been reorganized to prevent anything important from the water. You readied yourself for the dash to the subway entrance. Crosswalk lights timed and backpack held tight.

A hand pulled you back, "Hold on!" 

You turned to see a strange sight of someone half stripping their hoodie off. A bright smile revealing itself. Blonde hair shone under the glaring lights. His disheveled hair flopped onto his eyes dusting against his freckles.

You couldn't help but smile as he tried to chuckle it away. Something about the sincere look in his blue eyes.

"Um- use this," he held out his hoodie. "I promise you I'm not trying to be a creep and this is from a fresh set of laundry and you look like you'll need it more than me."

You paused, contemplating the offer, "I'll be fine. The station's just a quick run."

"Looking at how the rain's coming down, you'll get soak. I already have a ride so you don't have to worry about me. Really." he reassured.

"Well-"

You jumped at a blaring car horn, the large splash that followed, and a few frustrated shouts.

"Thank you," you took the hoodie. He smiled before muttering a goodbye and escaping back into the arcade. A hint of red dusted his cheeks. There had been a slight shake in his hands.

The rain did soaked you but the hoodie kept you warm on your ride home. It fit a little lax and fell past your waist. A snug fit that you buried yourself in. While playing with the drawstrings, you realized you never took his number to return it to him.

After that, returning it became impossible. Visits to the arcade became difficult since finals and college applications took over. Over time you just accepted the hoodie into your wardrobe but kept your eye out for the blonde.

You couldn't understand why you associated him with warmth. You didn't even catch a name. Just a ray of sunshine during a dreary day. A pleasant memory you clinged to. Or maybe just sensory memory from your use of the cozy hoodie. Either way you hoped the best for the kind stranger.

The hoodie was one of your only and last possessions from Insomnia. Your other being your phone. Everything you owned now was given to you or bought with your hard earned gil.

Work had come a few days after you arrived in Lestallum. Watching days and nights past, waiting drove you further into despair. A change was needed and welcomed.

A girl named Iris had been helping with organizing things for the other refugees. She had a cheerful disposition despite the redness under her eyes. She had told you of some farms in need of drivers.

Others began to pick up their shattered lives. You accepted your reality. So, you took a truck loaded with other refugees to the farms. Delivering produce and other things was your new life.

You bit into the thread and admired your handiwork. The hole near nonexistent.

Patching things up was what you did best.

The radio hummed as you turned the ignition. You let the engine warm as you splashed some water on your face. A cold awakening in the chill morning air. The emptiness in your stomach calling for breakfast. One more stop than you'd be home.

Pulling the hoodie on, you readied your truck and rechecked all your orders. The music drowned the voices of four men pulling up to the gas pumps.

"Can I trust you with filling the Regalia, Noct?" Ignis closed the doors quietly behind them. His voiced stayed hushed to not disturb the other two sleeping in their seats. Noctis nodded but a yawn caught him.

"Wake them up when you park. I'll go order breakfast," he said. Noctis waved him off, voice still not ready for talking this early. It didn't take much to rouse the two. Just the sound of the nozzle clinking against metal.

Noctis left them to wake on their own. Leaning against the car, his eyes wandered across the parking lot. It wasn't the first time they had been here. Nothing new caught his interest until his eyes landed on a familiar shade of grey and a black silhouette of a moogle on the back.

It wasn't the sweater that reminded him of that day but the woman scrolling through her phone. Noctis wasn't great with faces but he couldn't forget the half hour he watched his best friend agonize over approaching her.

The full half hour of Prompto pacing back and forth between the same games. The debate on whether he was a creep for wanting to give her his sweater. The entire hour of pouting he had to deal with from his best friend afterwards.

"What's up?" Gladio rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Following Noctis's gaze, he only saw the door of a yellow truck slam close.

"Are we there yet?" Prompto slurred, leaning back onto the chair.

"Hey, Prompto," Noctis followed the truck as it pulled out. "Remember that time at the arcade you forgot to ask for this girl's number after giving her your moogle hoodie."

Gladio laughed low, sleep still in his system, "Smooth, kid."

"I panicked!" Prompto pulled himself up to face the man. "She laughed and . . . ya' know, I kinda fell apart from there."

Noctis and Gladio couldn't help but laugh and want to continue the teasing. Prompto sat back and glanced to the landscape.

"I hope she's okay."

The thought sobered them up.

"She's probably doing okay," Noctis sighed, trying to lift the mood. "She drove off just now and looked fine. Probably works around here."

It took a hot minute before the news settled in Prompto. You being here meant that you survived the destruction. It also meant you lived through the mayhem.

He never even asked your name. You had a nice laugh and the way you nearly fought your friend to take your umbrella had to mean you were caring.

"What? Where?" he shouted.

"She was heading North. You wanna try to catch her?" Gladio asked.

Prompto shook his head. All that mattered was that you seemed to be doing well. He was satisfied with just knowing that you were somewhere happy and alive. Gladio glanced to Noctis and he accepted his friend's decision.

"Our order's ready!" Ignis called from the diner.

"Let's go eat!" Prompto smiled, trying to break the solemn mood.

Noctis sighed but dropped the subject. He'd leave it up to fate. It had brought the two together after this many years. What's to stop another chance from coming up again.

Besides divine intervention, there was the glint in Gladio's eyes. The long stare he gave Noctis as he dragged Prompto under his arm to the diner. Gladio wasn't going to drop this. And what type of best friend would he be if he didn't at least try to reunite the two.


	2. Chapter 2

Everything had fallen once again. 

Not in a fiery inferno of magitek and panic but, in silence, on a hill overlooking the dying dust storms of Leide. Whispers quieted and a choked sob rattled the air. You couldn’t summon tears or anger, just resignation. 

There was nothing any of you could do. Nothing the crowd of hunters and those saved over the past, troubled weeks could stop. You were left powerless once again to whatever fate the Astrals had abandoned the world to. 

The settling dust captured the last of the sun. The savannah glowed hues of powerful reds and oranges. The last sliver of warmth slipping away. It took mere minutes for your entire world to be plunged into another darkness.

Again, left to the unknown. Again, life had took what you most cherished. The ever present warmth that welcomed you each day despite what troubles you had faced in days past. 

But, time had passed and things were different. The growing night had been on everyone’s mind especially, the Hunters. When Titan fell, you were asked to keep a log of sunrise and sunset times. The beginning of many favors. 

At first, it began as just rides between rest stops. Quick and enjoyable. It soon became transporting supplies between Headquarters and outposts. After a certain incident, you were asked to join large hunts as an improvised ambulance. 

The dangers grew as days were eaten away. On your longer trips, you traveled well into the night. Any warnings were pushed away. The empty roads gave enough room for a speedy escape. Your flare gun dispatched more than a few of the smaller daemons. There were a couple more close encounters but, Insomnia had taught you not to fear. 

Because nothing could ever rival that night. Not until now.

As the sun made its final descent, you felt a hand on your shoulder. The man sighed. He was one of the hunters that introduced you to the job. The one you had to cart off to Lestallum as he cracked leg jokes. 

His rough eyes shimmered but never broke. You gripped your dogtags, feeling etchings of your name. You could feel the heavy weight everybody now bared. 

A responsibility that was not only yours to bare because you weren’t alone. Not anymore, not like that night. You were different. You could defend yourself. You could survive. Hope prevailed over despair. Dawn would return. 

The final cries rang out, aching your heart. The hunter’s hand tightened around your shoulder. 

“2:53,” his voice shuttered. “Seven more minutes until you head out.” 

There was work to be done. Supplies to deliver, people to transport,and a life to live. 

And so, you did. 

The passing months were difficult, more on your body than mind. You spent most of them behind the wheel, driving between Leide and Duscae. Refueling and resupplying the outlying outposts, helping with the power lines, and picking up anybody you could. 

Your yellow truck was retired to a parking lot in Lestallum. It wasn’t suited for the long trips and heavy loads. It also took you nearly dying and a long lecture by the head mechanic at Hammerhead to finally let go of it. You always paid it a visit when you were in town. 

“Step on it!” a hand slammed into the hood of your car. 

Maybe, now wasn’t the best time to miss your truck. 

Fires flared in your rearview mirror as you shifted gears. Slamming on the gas pedal, you rocketed out of the dirt into the highway. You wanted nothing to do with the giant and his overly, gigantic sword. 

All the hunters looked to be accounted for, including the two crammed into your passenger seat. The earth trembled and you grimaced. Beyond the bodies in your rearview mirror, the giant was catching up fast. 

The hunters were readying to fight. You glanced at the new contraption you were given. A modified flare gun that rivalled your old one. The tunnels were approaching and would be your best bet at losing the daemon. 

“Take the wheel!” you shouted to the woman, who followed through with a fire in her eyes. When you felt her foot on the as pedal, you pulled yourself onto your window. Taking aim, you waited for the light of the tunnels. 

“Eyes closed!” you shouted. 

Sparks erupted from your gun, throwing you into the door. You had little time to watch the round explode into the daemon. The white flames consuming and ripping into it. The agonizing scream that you never grown use to echoing in the tunnel as you retook the wheel. 

“Holy Six!” the hunter at your side erupted into laughter. “Nice shot, kid!”

“Thanks!” you laughed along, feeling your nerves shake your hands. More cheers erupted from your truck bed. 

“Tell those idiots to check the cargo,” the woman sighed, “and that we’re not out of the woods until we see Hammerhead.”

“Yes, ma’am!” the hunter continued to laugh before climbing out of his window. The woman turned to you and gave your shoulder a squeeze. A nice reassurance as you began to see the end of the tunnel. 

The rest of the trip continued without much incident. A few goblins that were easy pickings for the heavy hitters in the back of your truck. All you wanted was to get to the floodlights of Hammerhead and have a shower, even if it was only a three minute one. 

“How was the gun, [Name]?” Cindy caught up to you as you finished changing out of your gear. 

The hub was buzzing with activity as usual. Survivors funneling in and out to trucks. A few children were playing with some of the hunters. Their laughter giving a nice break to the solemn talks of supply shortages and lost lives.   

You walked with her to the diner, “I love it.” 

“You gotta give me more than that,” she laughed. You smiled at seeing a bit of the stress weighing on her ease off. 

You went into a deeper explanation about distance and impact. The recoil was a little more that you were use to. Cindy wanted to push heavier guns on you since you were usually stationary. 

“My shield’s already heavy enough,” you pouted as she pushed you into the diner. You smiled at Takka, who went to work on your meal. 

“But my usual lab rat is in Cleigne and he ain’t too fond of them either,” she sighed. 

You were always a bit of a pushover. 

“Fine.”

“Thanks, [Name]. I’ll leave you to your breakfast,” she slapped your back. You laughed as you tripped a bit. 

The diner went quiet as she left. The only sounds were the clinking of pans and people outside. You stretched, beginning to feel the hours you haven’t slept. The counter tempted you to lay your head. Your precious sweater’s warmth pushing you to close your eyes. 

It had been awhile since you dreamt. A nostalgic feel always washed over you when your dream was in old Insomnia when the sun still shined. It was nice to know you could still remember the sweltering heat of summer. 

Recently, you dreamt of the blond. 

It was nice seeing him.

“My sister said that moogles use to be messengers,” a stool scraped next to you. 

“They were jack of all trades, kupo,” you pushed yourself up with a yawn. Slumping into your hand, you glanced at the stranger before your mind kicked in. “Oh! The hitchhiker!”

The tattooed man flashed a smile, the scars on his face crinkling. You questioned his sanity when you pulled over. Nearly missed him, too, if it weren’t for the giant sword he had carried. Seeing him under more light, you realized he could more than handle anything. 

But, instead of a weapon in his hand, he balanced a tray. Your breakfast.

“Here ya’ go,” he placed it down when you moved back. 

Sleep wasn’t the only thing you were lacking. You dug in, not giving the stranger a second thought. 

“Didn’t think one of the Hunter’s toughest drivers wore a moogle hoodie?” he asked. 

“It’s my good luck charm,” you broke the bread in half. “Did you eat yet?” 

That question caught him off guard. Whatever conversation he had planned was thrown out the window. He shook his head. 

“Eat up,” you handed him the other half. “Don’t know when we’ll be called out so make sure to eat.” 

The man paused then took a bite. Maybe it was better to wait for you to get some food in your system. 

Gladio sat back on the counter. Months had passed from when he heard Prompto’s story. He had kept a lookout for the sweater, all for the his sake. The kid had lost everything. Home. Family. His best friend. 

The bread went stale in his mouth. 

Things piled up. These past months pushed him to suppress memories that would dig too deep. They would leave him restless in the tiny apartment they crammed into. It was why he was in the middle of nowhere, fighting what he could, so, he could forget. At least, for a short while. 

“Where d’ya get your lucky charm?” Gladio sighed, feeling unusually tired. Until he saw the sweet smile on your face. A genuine and unbridled joy. Something hard to find these days. 

“I got it from this sweet guy back in Insomnia,” you laughed. “It was pouring and I was stuck in some arcade. He said he had a ride and I’d get better use out of it so, he gave it to me. Never could find him again.”

The smile on the hitchhiker's face snapped you out of your sleepy state. Your cheeks flushed as you turned to your meal. You’ve never told anyone the story. In hindsight, it sound to out of a romance novel for it to be real but, here you were. 

Gladio tried to hide his growing smirk, “Do you think you ever will?”

“Who knows,” you sighed, pushing out the dark doubts. “Probably not. I think I’m using up all my luck driving that damn truck.”

“What would you say if you ever did?” he pressed.

You frowned at him, “Listen, Mr. Hitchhiker with a Few Screws Lo-”

“Gladio,” he held his hand out. 

“[Name],” you returned the gesture. “I kno-”

He interrupted again, “If you’re from Insomnia, does your phone still work?”

“Yeah, a little spotty but, it works,” you pulled it out as he did as well. 

The next minute was spent exchanging numbers. Maybe, it was because of your time spent with the Hunters that you were too use to being pulled into these sorts of quick, friendly exchanges. Gladio seemed satisfied and you guessed that was enough. 

It didn’t hurt to have one of the Crownsguard or Kingsglaive in your sparse contacts. They were the only ones from Insomnia that looked as combat hardened as he did sporting a phone.

“If you’re ever in Lestallum, let me know. I’ll treat you to drinks, Ms. Moogle,” he grinned. 

You sighed, accepting how quick paced your life had become, “I’ll hold you to it, kupo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the lovely comments I was too nervous to respond to like a year ago! I was going to just end it all in this chapter but, 1) I'm impatient since it's been a good while, 2) I can never push a chapter to be more than like 2000 words without it getting to wordy and descriptive, and 3) I was debating how the story would progress. 
> 
> So, here we are, nearly there!


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